The Landscape Group, (TLG), Fenland District Council’s grounds maintenance contractors, have started work early on their grass cutting programmes.

A clean up operation has also started on an overgrown pathway in Chatteris which had become a focus for anti social behaviour.

From now on, most areas will be cut twice a month, weather permitting, with some being visited more frequently.

Some places could be missed initially because poor ground conditions or drainage problems prevent them from being cut.

However, TLG and the council are monitoring conditions closely so that they can be tackled as soon as possible.

Councillor Peter Murphy, FDC’s Cabinet member responsible for the environment, joined TLG staff at work in Eastwood cemetery, March, where he said: “Keeping all our cemeteries and green spaces neat and tidy through the spring and summer is always a challenge but we’ve put in place a regular schedule for the grass-cutting to ensure we keep on top of things.”

In Chatteris a clean-up operation has been carried out along a pathway that has become a focus for antisocial behaviour.

The old hedge line along Saddlers Way by Glebe Close had become overgrown by brambles and the ditch made a regular dumping ground for rubbish of all sorts.

Now a line of new trees has been planted and the ditch cleared. Reseeding of the areas will follow later this month.

Cllr Murphy said: “The TLG staff have had to work really hard on this and they’ve done a great job. Because of the nature of the soil, digging it all out has been very tough and there was a load of rubbish to clear, including a mass of barbed wire.

“It attracted a lot of other antisocial behaviour, too. But now that we’ve cleaned it all up, hopefully all that will stop.”